The City of the Sister
The City of the Sister is an underwater city a decent ways off the coast of the Eastern Northern Continent. The city is a matriarchy ruled by The Sister, who is said to have descended from the original ruler of the city, though this may be a stretch. Surrounded by a magically filtered and enforced glass dome, the city is closed to outsiders. No one may leave or enter without explicit consent of The Sister, and this consent is rarely given. For this reason, the City is self sustaining, and within the dome there are markets, housing, farming, and everything an underwater society needs to survive. The Sister The regal matriarch of the city, The Sister is not so much a name as it is a title, there has been a Sister as long as there has been a City of The Sister. The changing of The Sister is not announced, however each Sister has a particular personality. The current Sister, who has been Ruler since 20 years before Armageddon's War, has a very distinctive personality. She is pretentious, and believes that everyone who is around her is beneath her, and given her position, she is not wrong. She treats her servants and guards with disdain and her closest attendants with cruelty. She has never left her palace, as she believes that there is nothing out there that is worth her presence or attention. Despite her crass and abrasive personality and local ruling style, she is a very diligent ruler over the city. The Sister maintains the guard system, and maintains order, however her disdain for the people of the city means that she gives them some semblance of freedom, as she sees no need to change the standard order of things. She is very possessive of what she has. History The City of the Sister was born as so many great cities are, out of the ashes of war. Once there was a great kingdom. It spanned from the City of the Brother, to the City of the Sister, and encompassed all of the wilds between. There were roads, and towns and great societies. However, there came a time of civil war, the kingdom divided, both sides convinced of the others evil. No one seems to remember the nature of the argument, however it was most certainly over magic and mechanics. It is said that the Ruler of the kingdom at the time had two children, each took a different side on the war. It was them who built the original domes that surround the two cities. The Sister built her city and the Brother built his, though originally they were built to be strong holds. In time, as the battle continued, the people became tired of fighting, and the actual combat of the war all but dissolved. Technically the two cities are still at war, as no peace was ever called. The people of the cities, now confined to their Domes began to ignore the outside world, and those who still lived there. This area devolved, no longer maintained by the kingdom, it became overgrown and those inside began to fear it. This is where they are now, in the ruins of the great kingdom. It is said that The Sister to this day, is a descendant of the original Sister. This is highly unlikely, and it is unlikely that the two original rulers were siblings in the first place, but the truth is lost to time. Society Magic Magic within the City of the Sister is in no way rare. The majority of the people who live within the city either know minor magic, or practice it for a living. Druids roam the city, with whale animal companions who function as a transport system between districts. Door hinges do not exist, rather doors are made to act as would the pore of a sponge, magically opening and closing to let people in. There are large magical bubbles, which are used as recreational spaces which float around the castle. Magic is so embedded within the society that engineering and mechanics have been outlawed. To practice engineering and create mechanical devices is seen as unnatural and is so dictated to be heresy, barbarism, and a crime against The Sister. Underground Societies There are three major groups of criminal societies within the city of the sister: The Thieves Guild: There is no thieves guild :). Except that there is. If you are not a part of the thieves guild, you do not know about the thieves guild. You do not leave the thieves guild, but you do join, if you are invited to the thieves guild. If you attempt to leave or betray the thieves guild, it is a very dangerous process which often involves a small payment to the Assassins guild. There are particular merchants thought the city who are part of the guild, they buy, sell, and commission thieves. However, it is a very tight network. People know that things go missing, but they attribute it to individual thieves. The Assassins Guild: There is a thriving assassins guild in the City of The Sister. However, it functions unlike a guild would. There is a base, but there are no leaders. People who know of the guild will take their hit requests to specific members, normally those who have been there for the long run, who will either take them, or divvy them out to the younger members. It is very loosely run, but very neatly kept. The Science Society: You can't exactly outlaw science if people still want to practice it. However, because it is a severe crime within the city, punishable in unmentionable ways (seriously, no one is really sure, some say that those caught are killed, some say they are imprisoned for life, tortured or un-tortured, there are many stories, none of which are confirmed, all they know is that the people do not come back) people practice in very exclusive, very underground societies of science. They do have ties to the thieves guild, as they occasionally need to procure the parts they need in not so legal ways, or at least in not so traceable ways. The Guard The City of the Sister has an extensive guard system. The guard has the ability to recruit anyone either by volunteer or as minor punishment. They have their own housing systems, so for the less fortunate of the city, the joining guard can be an effective way to raise status, or stay alive. This is by no accident, as it keeps the enrollment rates high enough. They have their own stables and barracks systems just outside the palace gardens. There are three different kinds of guards, each with their own ranking systems. * Gate Guards ** These guards are fewer in number, and tend to have more rangers within their ranks. They guard the four gates into the city. They make sure that no one gets in or out, and make sure that imposing Wildlings keep their distance from the dome. It can be a rather boring job, no one really tries to leave the city, and very few Wildlings seek the city life. * Palace Guards ** These guards maintain the Palace. They guard The Sister, the servants and the treasures within the palace walls. They tend to wear more ornamental uniforms the further into the Palace you go. They patrol the halls, and watch prisoners kept within. There are many of them, which makes the Palace rather difficult to get into undiscovered. These guards live within the palace rather than outside with the other guards. This makes Palace guard a rather sought after position. * City Guards ** These guards act as the police force of the city. They have the busiest and dirtiest job of all of the guards. They patrol the city, arresting criminals and keeping the peace. They are trained to be caring but strict with the citizens. The Layout of the City Category:Cities